Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide :: essays research papers

Empirical Formula of Magnesium OxideDateAim The aim of this experiment was to determine the empirical formula of magnesium oxide. Equipment BalanceCrucible and eye lidBunsen burnerMagnesium ribbon (0.2g)Steel woolCrucible tongsPipe clay triangleTripodProcedure 1. happen a clean, dry crucible and lid, past heat them for approximately 5 minutes over a Bunsen burner2.Clean the surface of a 20 cm strip of magnesium ribbon using steel wool3.Coil the magnesium ribbon, so that it fits into the crucible4.Weigh crucible and lid on a balance, and record the mass5.Place magnesium ribbon into crucible, replace the lid and weigh once more6.Heat the crucible and its content with the lid off until the magnesium begins to glow7.Replace the lid and heat the crucible strongly8.Continue to heat the crucible, occasionally lifting the lid with tongs to provide oxygen for the reaction9.When all magnesium has reacted, remove the lid and heat strongly for 5 minutes10.Replace crucible lid and allow to cool11.Reweigh the crucible with its contents and lidObservations Once the magnesium was in the crucible and was beingness heated by the Bunsen burner, it glowed for a brief time. It then caught fire before the lid was placed on top. When it came into contact with the oxygen, the magnesium started glowing extremely bright, and intensely white. The glow became orange after some time. The magnesium ribbon then turned white.ResultsMass of crucible and lid29.9 gMass of crucible, lid and magnesium30.1 gMass of magnesium0.2 gMass of crucible, lid and magnesium oxide30.3 gMass of magnesium oxide0.4 gMass of oxygen combined with magnesium 0.2 gQuestions1. a) The mass of magnesium which reacted was 0.2 grams.b) The mass of oxygen that combined with the magnesium was 0.2 g.2. What is the empirical formula of magnesium oxide?Mg0.2 g0.224.310.0080.0081=2O0.2 g0.2160.01250.0081.56 =3Thus the empirical formula of Magnesium Oxide is Mg O .3. Why are the crucible and lid heated at the beginnin g of the experiment before being weighed?The crucible and lid are heated at the beginning of the experiment before being weighed so that any moisture in the crucible is burned away. Moisture is heavy, and thus it can change the results of the experiment, as we only want the weight of magnesium and the magnesium oxide.4. What are the possible sources of error in this experiment?Possible sources of error in this experiment include the inaccuracy of measurements, as correct measurements are decisive for the experiment.The loss of magnesium oxide smoke can also be counted as a possible source of error if you should lose some of the smoke, there would be a less amount of magnesium oxide than expected at the end of the experiment.